Handle locking attachment for electrical control devices



April 2, 1968 "r. N. BATT ET AL 3,376,400

HANDLE LOCKING ATTACHMENT FOR ELECTRICAL CONTROL DEVICES Filed March 10, 1965 Jim! 111mm,

314/ l A I M United States Patent 3,376,400 HANDLE LOCKING ATTACHMENT FOR ELEQTRICAL CONTROL DEVICES Thomas N. Batt, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Harold A.

Duvall, Pasadena, Calif., assignors to Square D Company, Park Ridge, 11]., a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 10, 1965, Ser. No. 438,575 3 Claims (Cl. 200-42) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A handle locking attachment for a pivotable operating handle extending outwardly of a boss on a case of a molded case circuit breaker. A rectangular frame of the attachment fits around the boss and is secured to the case. A bail is pivotally mounted on the side portions of the frame and receives a padlock in interfering relationship with movement of the handle.

This invention relates to a handle locking attachment for electrical control devices such as switches and circuit breakers.

An object of the invention is to provide a handle locking attachment attachable to the casing of a single-pole, molded-case circuit breaker in an electrical panelboard or load center, the attachment being capable of selectively receiving the shackle of a padlock to lock the handle of the circuit breaker in either ON or OFF position, being of a size and shape to fit substantially within the confines of the circuit breaker and to fit the trim panel of the panelboard, and being capable of receiving the padlock in such a manner that the padlock does not interfere with a padlock or handle of an adjacent circuit breaker in the panelboard.

Other objects will appear when the following specification is considered along with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a circuit breaker having a handle locking attachment constructed in accordance with the invention mounted thereon;

FIG. 2 is an end view taken from the left hand end of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a circuit breaker having a handle locking attachment constructed in accordance with the invention mounted thereon and showing fragmentary portions of a trim panel of an electrical panelboard;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side view, partially in section, of the circuit breaker of FIG. 3 and including a portion of a padlock locking the handle of the circuit breaker in OFF position;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the handie of the circuit breaker locked in ON position;

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a blank from which a handle locking attachment constructed in accordance with the invention may be formed; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a modified blank from which a handle locking attachment constructed in accordance with the invenion may be formed.

FIGS. l-5 show a circuit breaker 10 such as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2,902,560. The circuit breaker 10 is mountable in an electrical panelboard in the manner shown in U.S. Patent No. 3,065,386, the panelboard having a trim panel 12 shown fragmentarily in FIGS. 3-5. The front of the casing of the circuit breaker 10 is provided with a raised boss portion 14 adapted to extend through an aperture in the trim panel 12 as best shown in FIG. 4 and provided adjacent opposite ends respectively with central recesses 15 and 16 (FIGS. 3 and 4) disposed at the juncture of the boss portion 14 with the remainder of the casing of the circuit breaker 10 and partially defined respectively by overhanging retaining portions 17 and 18 (FIG. 4) of the boss portion 14.

FIGS. 6 and 7 respectively show two differently shaped metal blanks 20 and 20a from which handle locking attachments constructed in accordance with the invention may be formed. The blank 20 includes a pair of side portions 21 and 22 and a pair of end portions 23 and 24 joined together as shown respectively by four narrow connecting portions 25, 26, 27, and 28. The side portions 21 and 22 are provided respectively with a pair of ears 29 and 30 extending away from each other and having a pair of apertures 31 and 32 respectively therein. The end portion 23 is provided with an inwardly extending short tongue 33 provided centrally with a raised rib 34. The end portion 24 is provided with a generally L-shaped tongue 35 which is bendable in the plane of the blank 20.

The blank 20a is numbered correspondingly to the blank 20, and differs therefrom in that the side portions 21a and 22a are closer together than the side portions 21 and 22 and reversely positioned so that the ears 29a and 30a extend toward each other.

To form a handle locking attachment from the blank 20, the side portions 21 and 22 are twisted through ninety degrees so that the cars 29 and 30 are rotated toward each other and upwardly, i.e., out of the plane of the paper as viewed in FIG. 6, into generally parallel relationship as shown in FIG. 3, and a generally U-shaped bail member 38 formed of stiff wire is pivotally secured to the formed blank or frame member 20. The actual twisting occurs at the narrow connecting portions 25, 26, 27, and 28. The bail member 38 includes a bight portion 40 and a pair of parallel leg portions 41 and 42 having outwardly bent free end portions 43 and 44. The portions 43 and 44 are received respectively in the apertures 31 and 32 in the ears 29 and 30'.

To form a handle locking attachment from the blank 20a, the side potrions 21a and 22a are twisted through ninety degrees so that the ears 29a and 30a are rotated away from each other and upwardly, i.e., out of the plane of the paper as viewed in FIG. 7, into generally parallel relationship, and another bail member 38 is pivotally secured to the formed blank or frame member 20a, the portions 43 and 44 being respectively received in the apertures 31a and 32a of the ears 29a and 30a. The actual twisting occurs at the narrow connecting portions 25a, 26a, 27a, and 28a.

To secure a handle locking attachment formed from the blank 20 on the circuit breaker 10, the attachment is placed over the boss portion 14 of the casing of the circuit breaker and the tongue 33 is inserted in the recess 15. Thereafter the tongue 35 is bent inwardly, as by the application of a screw driver as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1, so that its free end portion extends into the recess 16, as shown in FIG. 3. A handle locking attachment formed from the blank 20a may be secured to the circuit breaker 10 in the same manner.

The circuit breaker 10 is provided with a pivotable operating handle 46. After a handle locking attachment is secured to the casing of the circuit breaker, a shackle 47 of a padlock 48 may be inserted through the bail member 38 to lock the handle 46 in OFF position, as shown in FIG. 4, or to lock the handle 46 in ON position, as shown in FIG. 5. With the padlock 48 in place, the clearance between the parts allows the handle 46 to be pivoted a small amount from the position in which it is locked, but not sufiiciently to operate the circuit breaker 10. In other words, the handle 46 cannot be moved past its center position when the padlock 48 is in place, and it must be moved past its center position to operate the circuit breaker, as explained in the above mentioned U.S. Patent No. 2,902,560.

It will be noted from FIG. 3 that the handle locking attachment fits generally within the cuit breaker, so that it would not interfere with a handle locking attachment of an adjacent circuit breaker, and the padlock arrangement is such that the padlock would not interfere with a padlock or a handle of an adjacent circuit breaker in an electrical panelboard. Further, the attachment may be used to lock the handle of a circuit breaker in either ON or OFF position, and while it does not interfere with the trim panel, it cannot be removed from a circuit breaker when the trim panel is in place.

Various modifications may be made in the structure shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

We claim:

1. A handle locking attachment for use in locking a pivotable operating handle extending outwardly of a boss on a casing of an electrical control device in one of two operative positions thereof, said attachment comprising a generally rectangular apertured frame member,

said frame member including a pair of flat oppositely disposed end portions connected parallel to a first plane and by a pair of flat oppositely disposed side portions parallel to a second plane perpendicular to said first plane, cooperating means on said casing and said frame member for attaching said frame member to said casing in surrounding relationship with said boss, and a bail member mounted in said side portions for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of said handle and adapted to receive a shackle of a padlock in interfering relationship with movement of said handle.

2. A handle locking attachment as claimed in claim 1, wherein the attaching means includes a tongue portion on each of said end portions of said frame member receivable in a respective one of a pair of oppositely facing recesses provided in the boss on said casing and one of said tongue portions is bendable edgewise on its respective end portion into its respective recess in the boss on said casing.

3. The combination comprising confines of the cir-- (a) an electrical control device having (1) a casing,

('2) a pivotable operating handle extending ,out-, wardly of said casing for movement selectively to either of two operative positions, and

(3) a pair of oppositely facing recesses in said casing on opposite sidestof said handle, and

(b) a handle locking attachment secured to said casing,

said attachment including (1) a generally rectangular apertured frame member surrounding said handle, said frame member including a pair of flat oppositely disposed end portions parallel to a first plane and connected by a pair of flat oppositely disposed side portions parallel to a second plane perpendicular to said first plane, one of said end portions having a tongue portion slidably received in one of said recesses and the otherof said end portions having a tongue portion bent edgewise of its respective end portion into the other of said recesses, and

(2) a bail member mounted in said side portions for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the pivotal axis of said handle and adapted to receive a shackle of a padlock selectively on opposite sides of said handle in interfering relationship with operation of said handle.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,291,924 12/1966 Tharp t 200-42 2,169,860 8/1939 Von Hoorn 70-203 2,484,424 10/1949 Rosing 70-180 X 2,832,857 4/1958 Landmeier 200-42 3,055,995 9/1962 Snow 200-42 3,076,878 2/1963 Stanback et al. 200-42 MARVIN A. CHAMP-ION, Primary Examiner.

R. L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION Patent No. 3,376,400 April 2, 1968 Thomas N. Batt et al.

It is certified that error appears in the above identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

Column 1, line 59, "invenion" should read invention Column 2, line 37 "potrions" should read portlons Column 3, lines 21 and 23, after "flat" each occurrence, insert a comma; line 37, "on" should read of 1 Column 4, lines 12 and 14, after "flat", each occurrence, insert a comma.

Signed and sealed thls 29th day of July 1969K (SEAL) Attest:

WILLIAM E. SCHUYLER, JR.

Commissioner of Patents Edward M. Fletcher, Jr.

Attesting Officer 

